


Close to the Sun

by misbehavingvigilante



Series: Tales Inspired by the Discord Year 1 [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bruises, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 05:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18804892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbehavingvigilante/pseuds/misbehavingvigilante
Summary: Tony is pretty sure that Steve isn’t doing it on purpose.Sure, they hadn’t gotten off on the right foot, but he imagined that if Steve really wanted to hurt him, he’d do more than just leave bruises in his wake like an overzealous lover might.





	Close to the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fluffypanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffypanda/gifts), [Serenity514](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenity514/gifts).



> I blended two prompts together of Steve being reckless with his strength, and Tony being a bruise because of it & Steve taking notice of how Tony ends up with little injuries.
> 
> The [meme](https://apitnobaka.tumblr.com/post/159753335867) for those unaware.
> 
> With that said, enjoy the shenanigans!

Tony is pretty sure that Steve isn’t doing it on purpose.

Sure, they hadn’t gotten off on the right foot, but he imagined that if Steve really wanted to hurt him, he’d do more than just leave bruises in his wake like an overzealous lover might.

Of course, Steve has enhanced strength, so his bruises are a bit more than what you’d likely expect outside of maybe a bdsm relationship. He hasn’t known the good captain well enough to know where he might fall on that particular scale, if he does at all.

Steve seemed a little too straight laced to be that into kink, but then again, you couldn’t always tell with people. The whole world knew for instance, a rather detailed list of what he was and wasn’t into. The information still available on the fingertips of anyone with an internet connection because Tony wasn’t ashamed of his past sexual escapades.

Or at least, not that part of his past. Though it was somewhat in part of that, that Tony didn’t particularly mind the bruises as much as he should have. Always had a little bit of a pain kink, though that had lessened after the arc reactor, when you lived with chronic pain, it made your sex life a little bit more complicated.

Tony’s chest was overly sensitive some days, and not in the good way, but in the painful way. When even a companionable gesture of a chest pat could send him reeling, the nerves raw and rubbed, the metal slipping against his skin, his breaths never quite deep enough – the point was, it was an ordeal and a half.

And Steve seemed to be under the impression, these were just battle wounds, which also hadn’t helped clear up the misunderstanding that thus far, Tony had done nothing to correct.

It was true, that he wore a suit of armor, but it hurt, when he got smacked around. The armor helped take the brunt of the scrapes and falls as it was built to, but the momentum of such things could cause problems. Bruises when the armor creaked precariously, mounting pressure upon his skin when he pushed the upper limits of what it could do or when the armor failed and it sliced into him without complaint, without care that he’d been the one to design it in the first place.

Or when the villain of the week had a way of turning his armor against him, be it with an EMP that could send him and the armor into an early grave, or something unidentifiable which Tony had no way of knowing how to prepare his armor against ahead of time.

Or the fun times when it just failed because things failed, unforeseen and unfortunate, but inevitable.  Those were the hardest to come to terms with, a failure like that never failed to make him feel like a failure too even though Tony knew realistically that wasn’t true.

The point was, Steve wasn’t entirely wrong in the belief that being in the armor didn’t protect him from odd wound here so Tony couldn’t blame him for not connecting the dots. The guy still looked so lost some days that Tony just really didn’t have to heart to tell him when it didn’t bother him too much in the first place.

Naturally, that meant that others noticed though.

Bubble gum popped from behind him, making Tony twitch immediately in the comfort of his own home, or well the Avenger’s home, he should be free of being scared and yet.

“Natasha, you’re a nightmare as always.”

She rolled her eyes but Tony was rather certain, he hadn’t imagined the fond amusement there which only made sense when she swung over the couch, to sit beside him instead. “So, are you and Steve going to talk?”

“About what?” Tony asked as if he didn’t know what this was about.

“Oh, I don’t know. How about you let him manhandle you like you’re a living bruise? No one’s saying you can’t have kinks, Stark but he’s going to end up hurting someone if you don’t say anything.”

“Why me?”

Natasha shrugged. 

“You are entirely unhelpful.” Tony sighed.

“I can paint your nails for you.” Natasha offered. “I think he would like you in blue. Might help break the ice.”

“You did not just-“ Tony stifled a laugh, he shouldn’t laugh, he really shouldn’t because what had happened to Steve was terrible but Natasha’s delivery on it, paired with her nonchalance had just been too good.

“Go ahead, see who believes you.”

“You’re a menace.” Tony muttered under his breath, however he did let Natasha do his nails because it felt good, and it did give him at least, a little bit more confident to carry through with what would be a colossally awkward situation.

God, he needed a drink.

Maybe a nice, green smoothie. Maybe he could break into the smoothie business and market something after the Hulk?

Whatever the case, Dum-E absolutely could not be in charge of it. Dum-E could not be trusted with food prep.

Tony sighed loudly in the workshop, looking up at the ceiling as he had been for the last few minutes. Not the picture of insomnia ridden overachiever he typically was when here but he couldn’t help it, he wondered how long he might be able to avoid Steve and avoid that conversation by proxy.

But then Natasha would probably orchestrate something. She was very, very crafty. And Clint would back her play. The Wonder Twins were especially dangerous when combined.

“Sir?” Jarvis asked, his electronic voice, a balm to the thoughts in his head as always.

“I’m fine.” Tony said, though judging by the silence even Jarvis didn’t quite believe that either. “Look, it’s just Steve. It’s like I’m going to get charged with corrupting a national icon even though I’m just trying to clear up something. Why I’m his particular port in the storm, I have no idea, but this is my life apparently because I have to talk to him about it.”

“The bruises?” Jarvis guessed, astutely. 

Tony raised his eyebrow, at the slight note of disdain there, he doubted anyone but him would have heard the hint. Jarvis had been by his side for many years now after all. “J, buddy, you know I don’t mind bruises. You’ve scoured the internet. You know everything.”

“Yes, but to my knowledge the two of you have not ever communicated in relation to kink before, unless it was done when I was in a blackout mode. And if not, the lack of communication means a potential for abuse.” 

“Oh my god, Jarvis. You don’t have to protect my virtue, you know I don’t have any.” Tony laughed, long and hearty, he suddenly felt so much more at ease. “Good to know you’re willingly to go up against Captain America for me, though. Not many would back me up in that fight. Paragon of justice that he is.”

“Said paragon of justice is requesting entrance. Shall I deny him?”

“Don’t sound so happy about it. You can shock him if he does anything.” Not that Tony thought Steve would but then again, plenty of people had hurt him before that he never thought would in the first place for Tony to say that with one hundred percent certainty.

In that small percentage of him that was wary, there was Jarvis, willingly to go to the bat for him.

“Gladly. My bioscans have afforded me helpful information in what voltage might be require to see him unconscious should it provide necessary.”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s into that.” Tony snickered, Jarvis’ overprotective nature had just put him in a better mood. Now he almost wanted to have this conversation.

“Hey.” Steve waved awkwardly. He had a sketch pad tucked under his other arm. “Is now a good time? There was a bit of a delay when I asked for permission.”

“J and I were just chatting.” Tony summed up. “Besides, I did want to talk to you, so go ahead and take a seat your usual seat.”

Steve’s sketchpad and pencils were sit haphazardly on his table again. It was a good thing, he wasn’t working on anything too dangerous as they only came into contact with scarp metals and wiring. Nothing live that could torch Steve’s sketchpad thankfully.

One of Steve’s large hands came to rest on the side of his face, this time the touch seemed much gentler as if scared and then he felt the brush against the scar. The last battle had meant his faceplate hadn’t sealed properly, and seared into his face a little leaving behind a long, thin scar on his face.

It would heal, and if it didn’t heal right, he had the plastic surgeons on call to take care of that because masking scars was a bitch if Natasha was to be believed about why she didn’t wear two pieces.

“You keep getting hurt.”

“About that, you keep touching me.”

“Oh.” Steve pulled back as if shocked, for a moment Tony wondered if Jarvis really had armed the floor below them to shock Steve and spare him. The AI was certainly capable of it no doubt, but Tony reached back for once. He wondered if this was the first time, he had reached back and put Steve’s hand back on his face.

Judging by the way, Steve flushed, it may have been.

“Before I say this, I want to tell you, that I don’t mind and I actually loved it, but you sometimes leave bruises on me.”

Steve had an intense facial journey in front of them, his words seemed measured when they finally came out, as if unsure how to phrase it but needing to say something. “You like it?”

“Yeah.” Tony leaned into the touch more like a cat would against someone petting them to show how earnest he was. “Trust me, if I had a problem with it, Natasha wouldn’t have had to corner me into having this conversation. I mean, you should be used to the serum, right? Or is it just getting used to it after everything that it’s a re-adjustment?”

“Sometimes I forget my strength.” Steve admitted. “The ice, everything was mostly okay afterwards but sometimes I still feel like I’m stiff, that I have to move my muscles more than normal or else, I won’t be able to move at all.”

Tony made a note to discuss that with Bruce because while Bruce wasn’t an actual medical doctor, he did have enough expertise to contribute to that conversation and it wouldn’t involve SHIELD which was his preference.

“When I’m with you, you’re warm, and everything seems okay so I think I sometimes forget about my control because I’m afraid. You have a suit of armor, but I’ve seen you come out of it more bruised and battered than when you entered it and you don’t volunteer when you need medical attention. So I think I started touching you as a way to touch base, to remind myself you were okay but then you were warm. You were so warm and it was like I couldn’t get enough of that.”

“Some people do run a little hotter than normal.” Tony offered helpfully. “My baseline temperature is enough for a slight fever if you use the standard measurement. Maybe you’re sensitive enough to pick up on those subtle things?”

“Maybe, the rest of my senses did get better.”

“Makes sense.” Tony let go of Steve’s hand to which Steve awkwardly pulled it back, seemingly unsure what to do with it now. “Oh, Natasha painted my nails, she liked you would like them in blue. Was she wrong?”

“It is a good color on you.” Steve grabbed Tony’s hand from underneath, their fingertips brushing together in a not quite completely hold, something not so dissimilar to how a knight might help a Lady. Or maybe that was just his own Arthurian fantasy.

“I do to make any color look good on me, that’s true.”

“A little less blood and bruise, would be my preference though.” Steve said in his serious voice which was not one of the ones, Tony particularly liked the best. His commanding tone was sexy, but his serious one usually meant he had done something wrong.

“Even the ones from you, beloved? Though, I don’t think you’ve ever made me bleed before. I’m fine if you just want to stick to bruises.” 

“Maybe. Though I might like to put other things on your skin sometimes. You are a masterpiece.” 

“Someone has to pin the artwork to the wall, yeah?” Tony asked, leaning in.

“Oh, I understood that reference.” Steve said, lacing their hands together and drawing closer. 

“Wait, who’s being doing your meme education that isn’t me?” Tony pulled back, ready to ask Jarvis before Steve wrapped a strong arm around his waist and slotted their mouths together.

Suddenly it wasn’t as important who it was anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna chat, I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thiefoftruth26).


End file.
